Grace and Faith—What is it and Where Does it Come From?

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" Ephesians 2:8,9 "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy" Romans: 9:16

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How Severe Was The Fall Of Man?

Opinions of just how severe the fall of man was, as a result of man's rebellion in the garden, differ drastically. Most agree that the moral abilities of mankind after the fall are definitely a factor in his decision making process, but to what degree is debatable and understood differently within the Christian community. Biblical interpretations, as to the severity of the fall, range from a mere inconvenience to a total disaster, concerning man's moral integrity as a result of the fall.

There are three generic categories of opinion regarding how severe the fall of man was and where man, in his default nature, stands in regards to his spiritual state of being.

What do the scripture say?
A quick look at a few Scriptures tells us all we need to know about the inherent condition of man after the fall... (Underlining mine)

(Ephesians 2:1-3)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

(Genesis 8:21)
The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

(Psalm. 51:5)
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

(John 8:44-46)
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

(Romans 3:11,12)
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one

(Isaiah 64:6)
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away

(Jeremiah 17:9)
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

(Romans 8:7)
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

(Romans 7:24)
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

In this last verse (Rom 7:24), we have Paul himself admitting "What a wretched man I am" in his honest self-appraisal.
This should be enough to convince us how inherently depraved we are. Sometimes, the extreme view is the Biblical one!

Is there any other way that we can determine the severity of the fall? Is there a way we can somehow gauge our default corruptness by human standards? I think that there is...

Have you ever studied a young, undisciplined child? At the very core of a child is the desire to steal, cheat, covet, lie... need I continue? These are NOT learned behaviors, they are inherited behaviors! We must constantly teach a child to not steal, not cheat, not covet, not lie, etc... It is the very nature of a child to be selfish and self-seeking in their desires, no matter what the cost to others or sometimes, even themselves! This is because babies, unlike what many want to believe, are NOT born innocent! Babies are just as much the product of the fall of man as anyone else. Babies may be cute and helpless, but this doesn't mean that they are innocent. Psalm 51:5 confirms this default condition of man. Some will argue that children, prior to an age of accountability where conscious and deliberate sinning occurs, are absolutely innocent and sin free. However, this is not the biblical view. According to scripture, we are "sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we were born sinners! It's the most natural thing in the world, and therein lies our problem! I once heard a TV evangelist state that "babies are born absolutely innocent and safe in God's grace". Really? If babies are born innocent and sin-free, why then would a baby even need the grace of God? Sinless, perfect people do not need to be saved from their non-sin do they? The belief that babies and young children are innocent and not accountable for any sin and safe from eternal condemnation, begs another question; When in life does that change? Are we saved when we are young and then in some instant in time, not saved any more because we have reached some age of accountability? Do we lose our so-called innocence as soon as we become rational thinking human beings? This doctrine is very confusing and has no basis or support in scriptures. The bible is clear that mankind has an inherent spiritual problem from the very beginning of life! We are not natural-born children and citizens of God but rather His enemies! In order to be saved, we must be "Born Again" not of flesh, but of the Spirit.

(John 3:5~8)
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

This brings us to another question about babies and young children that I would like to briefly touch on here. So, if babies are born with a sinful nature, separated from God at birth, (which is certainly Biblical) then what happens to them when they die? Do they go to heaven or hell? The Bible really doesn't have anything to say on this directly. But there is one thing that I am confident of; if babies and small children do get to heaven at death, it can ONLY be by God's grace, and His grace alone! Since babies are born with a sinful nature, spiritually dead and separated from God, and since they cannot make an intelligent conscious decision to receive Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, then it therefore MUST be by God's grace alone that they can be saved at all! I would even go a step further here and point out that it is the Biblical teaching that God's grace, and His grace alone, is what saves anyone, babies and adults alike! Some may argue that babies and young children, prior to an age of accountability, are treated differently by God than all of the rest of humanity, because they have not consciously sinned against God, but there simply is no Biblical text to support such a claim. Their argument assumes that babies and small children are born innocent and are not conscious or guilty of any wrong-doing and therefore get a free pass to Heaven if they die. However, the Bible teaches us that man's problem is not with any "wrong-doing", but rather "wrong-being"! All of us, including babies and young children, are born spiritually dead and born into a sinful nature that is in opposition to God. We as human beings are not lost because we sin; we sin because we are lost! So the only hope for any of us is the unprecedented graciousness and mercy of God, whereby He regenerates us through His Holy Spirit! It is a free gift that has nothing whatsoever to do with man's desires or efforts!! This is a precious thing because fallen man does not desire God, nor could he do anything about his fallen condition even if he did desire God!

(Ephesians 2:8,9)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast

(Romans 9:16)
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy

Another interesting secular example of man's moral bankruptcy is the effect of alcohol usage. Most of us would agree that alcohol influences and changes people in ways that makes them do and say things that they would not normally do or say otherwise. I would disagree, however, that it is only the alcohol that is at fault for this apparent behavioral change. The problem is much deeper! Alcohol does not directly make us behave bad but it does strip away the layers of pretense and inhibitions, revealing the natural and inherited fallen attributes of humanity that are already present in us. When we are of sober mind, we are much better at hiding our true thoughts, feelings, and reactions to our circumstances. Alcohol effectively removes the fear of being exposed to our carnal side and makes us bold enough to behave more honestly (for good or for bad). As someone once said, "A drunk man says things that a sober man only thinks." I am not suggesting here that one needs to be drunk in order to be honest... I am simply trying to point out that when someone is drunk, their honesty will prevail over their deception. The fear of being exposed to something we would normally be hiding about ourselves, is dramatically diminished. The effects of alcohol is kindred to truth serum! I wonder how many secrets in history have been revealed by someone who drank too much? The point here is that prior to any conversion or regeneration of our default fallen state, we all have an inherent nature that is wicked enough to constantly conceal from people, for fear of being rejected. We are guilty of sin and deep down, we know it! We all have a horrible and corrupted dark side, which has deep generational roots in the sinful nature. It is so embarrassing, that most hide it, mask it, lie about it, or even drink alcohol excessively and/or take drugs to subdue their negative feelings about it, even though ironically, these substances expose our true malicious intentions and feelings to those around us. It can cause depression so great that people (even those considered healthy) continually use some form of perceptual-altering chemical to help in masking it, or engage in some form of psychotherapy of some kind (self-administered or professionally) to convince themselves that they are okay, not guilty of anything, with the excuse that they are just merely victims of their external circumstances.

Let's be honest with ourselves that apart from God, we are utterly despicable in His sight—not just off course a little, but dead, corrupt to the core, and in serious need of life and forgiveness, not available anywhere else nor in anything else aside from God's grace! We desperately need the grace and power of Almighty God Himself invading our desperate and lost souls. The old dead sinful nature of man must be replaced with a new holy nature, made alive through regeneration, if anything good is to come from a man.

Why Are We Responsible For Adam's Sin?
At this point, it might be tempting to ask why we, thousands of generations after the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, are held responsible for their sin, or why their sinful action would effect us? After all, it was not us that sinned in the garden right? To confirm this transference, or imputation of Adam's sin to the rest of us, we read in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 that...

(1 Corinthians 15:21)
For since death came through a man (Adam), the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man (Jesus). -- (Brackets mine)

(1 Corinthians 15:22)
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

The key point of these scriptures is that in Adam, we all died spiritually. All successive generations of Adam are under the curse of the sinful nature. So how is it that we are bonded to, and responsible for Adam's sin? When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he was changed. He not only eventually died physically as a result, but also died spiritually. He was warned about this. Adam's very being was changed so profoundly that even his offspring was effected. As a consequence, Adam's offspring was (and still is) born dead spiritually and also suffers physical death as a result of the changed state of mankind, through the propagation of this sinful nature. Sinfulness and wickedness became the new default and natural state of man. (This is why it is so crucial that something supernatural must happen, for a man to be restored to a pre-fallen state, where spiritual life is restored and enjoyed once again.)

This still doesn't answer the sticky question as to why God would hold us responsible for what Adam did. If we are really honest with ourselves, we would have to conclude that we would have sinned also. We would not have done any better at avoiding temptation than what Adam did. When God created Adam, God made him perfect and sinless. We must reason that when God created Adam, He did so as the perfect representative of all mankind. So when Adam sinned, we all sinned in Adam. To proclaim that we could have done a better job than Adam, is to proclaim that God didn't make the right choice when he created Adam to represent the human race. It's always easier to blame someone else for our condition instead of just admitting our own inadequacies. In fact, Adam blamed Eve by telling God that "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (Gen 3:12) If anyone had any chance not to sin in the Garden, it would have been Adam.

As depressing as this imputed sin-nature is, there is some "good news"... "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Cor 15:22) We may complain about being dead in Adam, but God, in His mercy and grace has provided a way for us to be made alive in Christ! Just as we did not personally choose to die in Adam (Adam represented us), neither do we personally choose to live in Christ (Christ represented us). We choose to receive Christ only after we have be given life! But "New Life" is a gift from God through regeneration! God gives life, and then life choices, including personally receiving Christ, ensue as a result. Death is the natural result of the old natural man (Adam)—life is the new natural result of the new Supernatural Man (Christ). In Adam we are dead, but in Christ we are alive! We are either identified with Adam, in his sin and death, or we are identified with Christ, in His holiness and life. (Consider the references below)

(Hebrews 10:10) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
(Rom 6:6 NAS) Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
(Rom 6:7 NAS) For he who died is freed from sin.
(Gal 2:20a NAS) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
(Rom 6:11 NAS) Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Col 3:1 NAS) If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated on the right hand of God.
(Col 3:3 NAS) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The Spirit of God strips us of our false sense of self-righteousness, by uncovering our depraved nature to the point of repentance. He enables us to see how corrupt we really are and enables us to make an honest appraisal of ourselves to the point of begging God for mercy and forgiveness, effectively leading us to surrender to Jesus Christ, willingly. If someone has never experienced this, then evidently, the Spirit of God has never visited them. Resisting the power and conversion of the Holy Spirit of God is like resisting the effects of alcohol. It's impossible! Either the Spirit of God has influenced us to repentance, or He has not. The ministry of the Spirit of God is so powerful, that when experienced, man cannot continue in his former way of life (which was actually a living death). Any man who thinks they can resist the power of God's Spirit, must either believe they are more powerful than the Spirit of God, or mistaken about the Spirit's visit.

(Romans 8:6)
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

(Romans 8:9)
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

(1 Corinthians 12:3)
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

"The Sinful Nature" vs. "The Flesh"
This topic deserves a separate examination and is beyond the scope of this website. But since we have been spending some time here regarding the sinful nature, (also referred to as the "Adamic nature" or "Old nature") I think that it is important to distinguish the difference between the sinful nature and the flesh. The biblical references to the sinful nature and the flesh are often interpreted as being the same thing, differing only in semantics. I believe that to use these two terms interchangeably is an error. Even though some biblical translations use the term flesh as meaning the sinful nature, these are two totally separate conditions and workings of a man's heart. I think it is important to distinguish the two, lest we become confused about what it means to have a new nature in Christ.

The word nature implies the inherent natural condition of something or someone. Anything occurring naturally happens without effort and without a forced change. An old nature therefore is a nature that has been around for a while and is natural to its existence. A new nature would imply a new condition that is in contrast to the old order of something. For the nature of something to be considered new, it must be different than what was originally natural. So can a Christian have both a new nature and an old nature at the same time and in the same relationship? It doesn't seem to me that both could be true at the same time, as this would involve a contradiction in natures. Nowhere in scriptures is the doctrine of dual-natures ever articulated. But for the sake of further investigation, let's drill down on this for a moment.

Some Biblical scholars would reason and argue that we can and indeed do have two natures simultaneously working against one another, which, according to them, would easily explain why Christians are still capable of sinning after receiving a new nature. They reason that because man still sins after rebirth (regeneration) with a new nature, then he must therefore also still possess the sinful nature present in his being, as to the cause. However, I believe that we can quickly dismiss this notion by examining the first created man, Adam. Did God create Adam with a sinful nature? Of course not! He created Adam as a perfect man and as the perfect representative of mankind. Did Adam sin? Yes, he did! As to exactly why Adam sinned, we can't know for sure, but Adam definitely sinned without a sinful nature! Therefore, we can safely conclude that man can and does sin without a sinful nature present! Adam certainly did! So to conclude that the presence of a sinful nature is the only reason as to why we continue to sin as believers is simply not a valid assumption. Adam and Eve gave in to temptation because it appealed to their flesh, not their sinful nature because they did not yet possess a sinful nature! Our flesh is more than capable of sinning against God and does so on a regular basis. So yes, Christians can and do sin, but I would reason that it is because of flesh, not because of any lingering sinful nature.

So what then is our flesh, and how does it differ from the sinful nature? Our flesh, in the biblical sense, is the human interface that relates to the world around us through our body and soul (mind, will, and emotions). Our flesh is inherently neutral and is not considered as being good or evil but can be pulled or pushed in either the direction of good or evil by persuasion. The flesh patterns that we develop in our life can be quite difficult to change or overcome, but not impossible. The sinful nature has influenced and trained our flesh to get what it wants, when it wants, regardless of consequences to ourselves or to others. However, our flesh can be dealt with, given a certain amount of effort and discipline with spiritual reinforcement from God. The flesh can be re-trained with the new nature installed. The sinful nature, on the other hand, when present, is the natural propensity to distrust and disobey God. It is the natural result of the fall of man and rules a man's flesh from the time he is born. Sinning then, is the natural result of man's inherited sinful nature. It is an Adamic nature (inherited from Adam) and is a nature that is predisposed to sin. A man with the sinful nature cannot act against that nature with his will because he is not willing to do so. The will of a man with the sinful nature is biased toward evil and sin and is hostile to the things of God. Such a man cannot, not sin! For the unregenerate natural man with the old sinful Adamic nature, it is the most natural thing in this fallen world to mistrust God and to willingly sin against Him, as that nature effectively rules his flesh. So if man is to escape the bondage of sin as a result of his sinful nature, the sinful nature of a man must be removed and replaced with a new nature. A man's nature is either old or new, but not both at the same time! If we have a new nature, then we cannot have an old nature. If we have an old nature, then we cannot have a new nature. What was once "natural" before regeneration is no longer "natural" after regeneration. And what is "natural" after regeneration was not "natural" before regeneration. Our very nature has been replaced, not added to. We were born as natural enemies of God. We were re-born (born again) as natural citizens of God! So the flesh can be retrained and dealt with, but the sinful nature MUST die and be replaced to be dealt with! Our flesh can be influenced to sin. Walking after the flesh is walking after our own desires, without considering what God wants for us. It is that part of us that acts upon old patterns of thinking and actions. However, it is possible to not gratify the desires of the flesh because the flesh has no permanent hold on us like the sinful nature did. A new nature is what is necessary for walking after the Spirit. So when the scriptures says "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh", it is referring to flesh that has been influenced and trained for evil desires and purposes. It cannot mean the desires of our sinful nature because it is impossible to resist the desires of the sinful nature if present.

(2 Corinthians 5:17)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

(Galatians 5:16)
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh...

We should no longer use the rationale that our propensity for sinning is the result of our sinful nature. Those who are born again, regenerated with a new nature, and occupied by the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, can and do resist gratifying the desires of the flesh by appropriating the power and work of the Holy Spirit in us. It is our new nature in Christ that enables us to walk after the Spirit and not after our flesh. The old sinful nature no longer has us in bondage because our new holy nature in Christ has been set free from the bondage of sin. Yes we still sin unfortunately, but we are no longer its slave! We no longer have to sin because of an old sinful nature. We can now resist sin because of our new nature in Christ. Thank God!

(Romans 6:18)
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

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Where Does Our Spiritual Faith In Christ Come From—Why Do We Believe?

Can the Unwilling Ever be Willing to Come to Christ?
Someone who is unwilling to do something, will not do it. Someone who is willing to do something, will do it. But someone who is unwilling to do something, can never be willing to do it, as long as they are unwilling. They cannot be willing and unwilling at the same time and in the same relationship! This would make no sense at all and be classified philosophically as a statement that violates the Law of Non-Contradiction.

However, there are things that we are willing to do that we do not desire to do, and conversely, things that we are unwilling to do but desire to do. In other words, we can be willing but not wanting, or wanting but not willing. This can happen when our will and our wants are at odds with each other. Our wills and our wants (desires) are two separate workings of our soul, (Mind, Will, & Emotions) Again, we are either willing or not willing to do or not do something... But not both or neither at the same time.

There are four scenarios that are possible when considering our "Wills" verses our "Wants":

Wanting and willing (I want to loose weight and am willing to stop eating ice cream)
Not wanting but willing (I do not want to stop eating ice cream, but am willing to do so in order to loose weight)
Wanting but not willing (I want to loose weight, but am not willing to stop eating ice cream)
Not wanting and not willing (I do not want to stop eating ice cream and am not willing to stop eating ice cream, despite the consequences)

An unwilling mind-set must be transformed, somehow, to a willing mind-set before being willing to do anything. So, the unwilling must be made willing to come to Christ. This may seem like a play on words, but it is important to understand what the will of man can and cannot do. Something must happen in human will itself to turn from unwillingness to willingness—but what is it?

Do I Have to be Real Smart, or Be Better Than Others, or Something Else to Develop and Posses True Saving Faith?
This is the million dollar question and is at the heart and soul (no pun intended) of my examinations. I have contemplated this question ever since my own faith was employed. Just how much credit can I declare (if any) regarding my faith? Why do some choose Christ by faith, and others choose against faith in Christ? Are we totally free in our choices? What makes those who receive Christ by faith different from those who reject Christ? If faith is being sure of what we hope for, where does this assurance come from? If faith is being certain of what we do not see, where does this certainty come from? There are many questions to consider.

Faith Leads to Grace?, or Grace Leads to Faith?
Is the grace of God the result of man's faith? Or, is man's faith the result of God's grace?

If the grace of God is the result of man's faith, then doesn't man effectually save himself through his faith? In other words, God's graciousness would be dependant on a specific correct choice made by man. If man's faith is the result of God's grace, then doesn't God effectually save man through His grace? In other words, God's graciousness installs the necessary faith required, despite man's inherent stubbornness!

The answers to this can be found in the Scriptures, regarding the very nature of faith itself. It seems apparent that faith is not the result of an individuals intellect, knowledge, good deeds, or anything else that is inherently part of man's abilities or even desires. It must come to a man apart from himself, supernaturally. The Bible speaks of exercising faith, but does it tell us that it is up to us to develop it, or to simply practice it? I think the latter.

If we examine a few Bible verses, we will see over and over again what the source of our faith is. Consider the following Scriptures:
(All scriptural references are NIV, and underlining mine for emphasis)

(John 1:11-13)
He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

(1 Corinthians 2:14)
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(John 15:16)
you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

(John 6:65)
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him"

(John 6:37)
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.

(Luke 10:22)
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

(Hebrews 12:2)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Ephesians 2:8,9)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast

(Romans 9:16)
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy

(Philippians 2:13)
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose

(Philippians 1:6)
being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

(2 Corinthians 1:21)
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us...

(Romans 10:20)
And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me"

(Romans 12:3)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

(Acts 3:16)
... It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

(1 John 5:1)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His Child as well.

(Acts 13:48)
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the Word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed

(Acts 18:27)
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

(Romans 8:33,34)
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us

(Zephaniah 1:7)
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated those He has invited.

(Ephesians 1:4-6)
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love. He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves

(1 Timothy 1:14)
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

It seems apparent in all of these Scriptures who is doing the enabling regarding our faith. Faith is a gift. Faith is given to us by God Himself, by divine invitation. Yes, God expects all of us to honor Him in faith. In fact, He demands it. But because of the total and spiritual fall of man, we became unable to exercise true faith in God on our own, now requiring God's divine intervention for fallen man, for true faith to be possible at all. Faith cannot cause rebirth (regeneration) to occur in a person because an unregenerate person does not possess the capabilities of saving faith! It is important that we keep remembering just how severe and crippling the fall of man was. The next three verses should be a reality check for those who believe that man still has some moral goodness, capable of saving faith apart from God's intervention:

(Titus 3:3-7)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

(Romans 3:11)
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God

(Isaiah 64:6)
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away

(Romans 3:12)
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one

God's external call to salvation is universal, so that mankind hears what is being offered. But because of the deep fall of man through original sin, the default heart of man is like stone. Even though the offer is heard, the offer is not understood because the perception of needing a savior is not understood. The external call cannot, in and of itself, soften a man's heart or provide the ability to understand the call in any effectual way. The only call that man will ever understand is a supernatural, internal call that can be clearly understood and executed in any effectual way. Our heart of stone must be made mutable and workable into a soft absorbing soil first—It must be re-worked, ready and willing, before any spiritual seed can take root. I think that Jesus was explaining this idea to His disciples using His famous parable in Mark 4:3-12:

(Mark 4:3-12)
"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!"

I find it interesting that in this parable, that the ONLY seed that takes root and produces, is the seed that falls on "good soil". So what is it that makes soil good enough to receive seed, and produce? In the natural world, soil must be prepared, broken up, worked, and fertilized in order to receive seed and produce a good crop. Likewise, a man's heart must be prepared and worked in order to receive Spiritual seed from God if a crop is to be successful at all. So, just because seed is sown everywhere on earth, does not mean that it will take root everywhere on earth.

Just because God demands that we all trust Him by faith, does not mean that we are able to. It is not wrong or inconsistent for God to demand of us, things we are incapable of. His standards for mankind are high and righteous. We fall well short of it. But this is still no reason for God to demand less or to compromise His holy standards just because of our shortcomings. The law of God demanded perfection even though it could only frustrate us by revealing our imperfection. God knew when he gave Moses the law that His people could not keep it. In the same way, He demands that all believe in Jesus Christ, the One whom He sent for the redemption of man, even though He knows that men cannot grasp it unless He reveals it in a special way.

(Ezekiel 36:26)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

So God, in His mercy and grace, has restored and enabled some to exercise a measure of faith that He has freely lavished upon them, undeservingly and supernaturally. Just as a farmer prepares the soil to accept seed and produce a crop, God has prepared some men's hearts to receive the Spiritual seed that He has planted in order to produce His Spiritual crop. It is quite clear to me that faith itself is a heavenly gift from Almighty God. We can not experience it unless we are given it. And when our faith is from God and genuine, we indeed will "be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see".

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Is Anyone Capable of Responding, by Faith, to God's External Call of Salvation?

To Doubt is Earthly and Natural—To Believe is Heavenly and Supernatural
It has been argued by many well-meaning Christians that everyone has what it takes to understand their spiritual dilemma, and without any interference from God (because this would be deemed as a "violation of free will"), is capable of responding in faith in order to receive salvation. I would like to challenge this thinking and respond by declaring that no one, in their natural condition, is capable of responding, by faith, to God's external call of salvation! Romans 3:11 seems to be very clear about this where it states: "there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God". If no one seeks God, then no one will respond to any external call by God. Simply hearing the Gospel of Salvation is not sufficient to convert or convince anyone of their need unless God reveals it in a supernatural way. And, even when our moral dilemma is truly understood, by nature, we are powerless to change what is natural about us, even though we may temporarily change our actions to satisfy the status quo. The unregenerate man indulges the sinful nature in every way imaginable, while convincing everyone else (and sometimes even themselves) that they have moral integrity.

I am not suggesting here that the Gospel is ineffective, but rather that the Gospel is effective ONLY when revealed by the Spirit of God internally and personally. Yes, the Gospel must be shared in order to be heard. But it will never be understood unless God cements it into our heart. When the Spirit reveals a man's needs, He, at some point, also reveals the Gospel to him, either directly or by proxy through someone who is sharing it. And when He reveals the Gospel, He gives the necessary power, life, and understanding to respond to it willingly by supernaturally installed faith. There is no other way that a man will be saved other than God exercising His sovereign grace and power in a man.

Even though I would love to believe that God supernaturally reveals Himself to all mankind in a way that all can effectually comprehend His Holy call and thus repent, it seems evident in the Scriptures that He does not. Jesus, speaking below, to His twelve disciples and others around Him is recorded as stating the following, regarding why He spoke in parables:

(Mark 4:11,12) He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

Some Bibles may have a footnote attached at the bottom that attempts to explain away this amazing statement as only meaning that Jesus knew that some would reject Him anyway because of the hardness of their hearts, which is really what keeps them blind and deaf. But this explanation does not do justice to what Jesus said. He was explaining why He was speaking in parables. If Jesus was simply trying to communicate the hardness of men's hearts as to why they reject His message, then why would He need to speak in parables at all? What difference would it make? Although it is certainly true that it is the hardness of men's hearts that keeps them blind and deaf to the Gospel message, it is equally true that special revelation is required to penetrate this darkness. A parable could only accomplish this with those who are given the "secret of the Kingdom of God" supernaturally, while at the same time keeping those on the "outside" in the dark. Also note that Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God as a "secret" that has been "revealed" to the twelve and others. It is clear to me that parables were a way to actually prevent some from turning and being forgiven. I admit that this is very hard to accept. The Gospel message is not a natural message. It is not fully understood by human reasoning, and in fact, may be somewhat offensive to some by human standards. But "God's ways are not man's ways", and human reasoning should never dictate spiritual solutions which are God's alone to establish.

God's sovereign will and desires are holy and are His business alone. Acknowledging that God's sovereign invitation list is NOT all inclusive, those who are not invited still receive God's holy and just judgments and consequences. Those who have been sovereignly invited have been given a rare and special gift that even the angels in heaven marvel in amassment at. Christ's death on the cross was specifically designed to effectually save those who are invited, despite their inherent lack of worthiness. This is known as "Limited Atonement" or "Particular Redemption" in the "T.U.L.I.P." acrostic of the reformed doctrine of election. (More on that later) Christ's death on the cross will indeed save those who are invited, through the effectual grace that God gives, and cannot be frustrated by man's moral inabilities and shortcomings. God did not send his Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross so that maybe some might turn and respond to this heavenly sacrifice... He sent His Son to particularly redeem those whom God has given to Him by His sovereign invitation so that He would lose none of whom He gave to His Son!

The incredible exclusion of "those on the outside" can be observed again in John 12:37-40 quoting Isaiah:

(John 12:37-40)
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them."

When we examine the Scriptures, we find that Christ specifically gave Himself for the Church. He gave Himself for the sheep, (not the goats). And He prayed, not for the world, but rather for those who belonged to His Father who gave them to Him!

(Ephesians 5:25)
...just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

(John 10:15)
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

(John 17:9)
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

The 3rd point of Calvinism (Limited Atonement or Particular Redemption) was formulated from this Biblical truth.

God is certainly capable of forgiving and saving everyone. God does say in His word that He desires that none should perish. (2 Peter 3:9) But who was Peter writing to in this second letter? Believers! It's obvious that God will not allow any of his elect to perish. But the hard question that's tempting to ask here then is this: Why does anyone parish? If God's choices in election are ultimately sovereign over man's choices, why then doesn't God restore all men to Himself by offering His effectual and transforming grace to everyone? Why doesn't He install the same measure of faith necessary for salvation in everyone? To be honest, I do not know. God has his reasons, but I do not believe that we should ever question God's motives, or why God does or doesn't do anything, even though admittedly I just did. Our Holy and Righteous God is not some tyrant taking pleasure from condemning some for eternal punishment. Someone may argue that God does indeed administer His saving grace to everyone equally in a way that all could respond in faith to the calling, but that some people simply resist and reject the work and power of the Holy Spirit because of their own stubbornness. This idea and argument would suggest that people can and do posses more power in resisting the work of the Spirit of God than what power the Spirit of God is capable of... This is absolutely ludicrous, ridiculous, and quite frankly, just outright arrogant! Anyone who would argue that their will is more powerful than God's sovereign will needs a serious lesson in humility. Since when has man ever had the necessary power to ever thwart God's plans? Never that I know of. And if man did posses such a sovereign power over God's will, it would result in a theological nightmare and irrecoverable spiritual chaos of gigantic proportions! In light of this foolish doctrine, God could never be sovereign because He would be subservient to, and under the rule of the almighty sovereign free will of mankind. This kind of thinking and theology must be adamantly rejected as hearsay and blasphemy against a Holy, Righteous, and Sovereign God who can never be at the mercy of mere human decision making.

I do not mean to sound callous or unsympathetic toward those who will be lost forever and perish, as my heart grieves thinking about their eventual fate. But we must realize that God, in His holiness and justice, could condemn all of mankind, past, present, and future and be totally justified in doing so. So if God, for His own good pleasure and sovereign purposes, sees to it that a remnant will be saved and gathered unto Himself, He has every right to do that, without us questioning His motives or claiming that He is not fair. God administers His justice to those who perish, and His non-justice to those whom He saves, by way of the cross where Jesus Himself received the penalty for His elect. But no one ever receives injustice from God. The only hint found in Scriptures as to why God saves some and not all can be found in Romans 9:22-24. (See Below)

(Romans 9:22-24)
What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath—prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

One thing is for sure; God's sovereign choice for His elect is certainly not based on the merits of men, because if it were, then no one would be elected! None are worthy, none seek God, and none have the capacity, in their corrupt and fallen nature, to do any good. As stated earlier, anyone who thinks that their own faith is what God looks at, to qualify them for salvation, must believe that their faith was produced righteously apart from any gift that was received from God.

Even If man were capable of developing faith apart from God's grace, then we would have to account for this by asking why this is so. Why would some men posses sufficient power to believe while others do not? Do some men have the upper hand in making moral decisions? And if so, why? If God truly shows no favoritism in His election process, and if all humans are created equal in their moral insufficiencies, then only two possibilities would exist as a result; (1) All humans would accept the gospel, or (2) All humans would reject the gospel! However, this is not the case, as some receive and some reject the gospel. Therefore, God MUST (by necessity) show favoritism either by direct election, or by making some humans more righteous than others so that they can respond to the gospel. So, if some men do posses sufficient power to believe the Gospel of salvation, this could only be because God made some men more righteous than others, in their capacity to believe. Therefore, God would still get the credit for His election strategy in offering some a capacity for faith that He evidently does not offer to everyone. No matter how we slice it, God is still at work in His sovereign election—it is a heavenly work that is not ours to boast in, and a work that we cannot achieve by ourselves apart from God. It is God’s grace and revelation to man, being made spiritually alive and willing, through regeneration that enables saving faith in Jesus that results in receiving and being baptized by the Holy Spirit.

(1 Corinthians 1:30,31)
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

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Who Gets the Credit for Your Faith or Mine?

Is Our Faith From Us or From God?
It should be obvious at this point to realize that our faith in Christ must be initiated by God Himself. Apart from God, saving faith is not possible in fallen man, due to the inherent corrupt nature of man after the "Fall". And because "the measure of faith God has given you" is enough to secure salvation, then of course it is God who should get the credit for our faith, our good works as a result of our faith, the fruits of the Spirit, and everything else God does in and through us. "To God Be The Glory" were certainly wise words, and we should remember to always give God the glory—for everything!

Ephesians 2:8 and 9 states the following:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast

When reading this text, we need to consider what the phrase "and this not from yourselves" is referring to—grace, faith, or both? One interpretation is that "grace is not of yourselves". Another interpretation could be "faith is not of yourselves". And a third interpretation could mean "both grace and faith is not of yourselves". The way that one interprets the word "this" in Ephesians 2:8 and 9 will mean the difference between believing that faith is of ourselves, or is not of ourselves—but rather a gift along with grace.

If we were to interpret this verse using a grammatical litmus test, then the portion of text that states "and this not from yourselves" would be all inclusive of what proceeded it—grace and faith, since neither grace or faith were mentioned specifically as to what was "not from of yourselves". Of course our modern-day translations could have changed the grammatical rules that were found in the original Greek text and grammar. But I think not. It would be perfectly consistent with other Scriptures to interpret this as meaning that grace AND faith are not of ourselves, but rather, gifts from God.

We should note that prior to Pentecost, Jesus was always remarking to His apostles about their lack of faith. They just didn't get it. But after Pentecost, and after the Holy Spirit occupied and empowered them, their faith was so powerful that it led them to their deaths for the sake of preaching Jesus Christ! I know of no human attribute or mere human faith that can empower a man so boldly. Only God could create a work of faith so great!

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What is the Sovereignty of God and How Sovereign is He?

What is the Sovereignty of God?
The word "Sovereign", as defined by Princeton University - A lexical database for the English language.

(adj) autonomous, independent, self-governing, sovereign (of political bodies not controlled by outside forces) — "an autonomous judiciary"; "a sovereign state"
(adj) sovereign, supreme (greatest in status or authority or power) "a supreme tribunal"
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The word Sovereign is used almost 300 times in the New International Version translation, 3 times in the New American Standard translation, 3 times in the New King James translation, and in all cases but a few, it is used in addressing God as Sovereign Lord. In the NAS, KJ, and NKJ translations, the phrase "Lord God" was often used instead of the phrase "Sovereign Lord". In some other verses, the word "rules" was used instead of "is sovereign". (See examples below)

New King James example:

(Daniel 5:21)
Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

NIV example:

(Daniel 5:21)
He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

No matter what translation you prefer, the central idea is the same, with either the word sovereign, rules, or Lord, all having to do with an ultimate authority above all men and things.
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How Sovereign is God? Can Anything Happen or Not Happen Without God's Permission?
We must absolutely get a handle on the character of God regarding His sovereignty. He is above all things. He is Master above and over the universe and over everything in it created by Him. He rules, reigns, and is accountable to no one. His will is immutable and unshakable. Everything that comes to be or happen, is by His permission, and nothing can be or happen without His sovereign permission. There is nothing or no one that is more sovereign than God because if there were, He would not be the ruling and authoritative God described in the Bible. All that exists and all that happens or does not happen, is under God's sovereign supervision and is included in His Holy and sovereign will, either actively or passively.

There can be only one sovereign being above all other beings, because co-sovereignty is impossible. To paraphrase Dr. R. C. Sproul (Chosen by God), he explains it like this: "Imagine an immovable object trying to co-exist with an irresistible force. The two would be locked forever in a never ending, winless battle and neither one could be absolutely sovereign over the other if equally sovereign. Either the object is immovable, or the force is irresistible, but both cannot co-exist at the same time and in the same relationship."

If a person goes on a rampage and kills someone, God's sovereign will is still being accomplished, either actively or passively, in that God did not prevent it from happening, and chooses to let the murderer operate under his sinful choices and actions. In this case, His will is being accomplished passively by allowing something to happen. God uses even our sinful choices and actions in His sovereign will. Does God justify our sinful choices in His sovereignty? Of course not! Sin is still sin and is punishable by death under God's holy law, unless they have died to the law and been placed under God's grace. But God's sovereign will is always accomplished and cannot be frustrated by the actions or non-actions of man.

Obviously, God allows his creatures to sin and make a mess out of things, even though He does not approve of sin. He gives man the freedom to sin without justifying or approving man's actions. It does seem that God keeps certain individuals on a shorter leash than what He does with others. He gives some more freedom than others, in making a horrible mess of things. But this is all in His sovereign purpose and plan. When God gives an unregenerate man more freedom, the corruptness of that man will flourish, because in his freedom, his corrupt nature will be exercised more freely. (A perfect example of this was Adolf Hitler) When God keeps an unregenerate man on a short leash and restricts his freedom, a man will have less freedom to exercise his corruptness. Either way, God's sovereignty is at work.

(Proverbs 19:21)
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

God's Sovereignty and the Existence of Evil
The topic of why "evil" exists in what a holy God has perfectly created would require volumes of philosophical and theological discussions and examinations and would be too lengthy to deal with here, so I will just touch on this briefly. The word "evil" has many definitions and its usage is dependent on the context in which the word evil is used. The question of what evil is and how it should be understood will be important in answering the question of what the source of evil may be. Some see evil as an active supernatural force of wickedness, where it exercises autonomy in its existence. Others view or define evil in a more generic context in describing events of calamity such as earth quakes, sickness, etc. Others may even dismiss evil all together as nothing more than an illusion where it doesn't exist at all. It might be helpful to first understand what evil is not. Evil is not "a thing", it is "no-thing", it is "nothing". Evil is a word used to describe a concept. Evil is not a thing that has existence or power because it has no being or ontological status. However, evil on the other hand, is not just some illusion either and is certainly part of the reality that we all experience. In Biblical terms, evil is defined with words like ungodliness, unrighteousness, injustice, where the term is used in negation of a positive attribute of the the word being used. The word "evilness" is used in contrast to, and is the antithesis of the word "goodness". So evil is an action or activity of something that is a thing or being. If someone is accused of doing something evil, it is understood that they are doing something that is not good.

So where does evil come from? That remains a mystery! None knows how or why evilness entered into God's perfect creation. Theologians have been pondering the thorny problem of the existence of evil for centuries with no satisfactory answers. One thing for sure is that God did not author its existence, as this would be contradictory to His holy and righteous nature. And even though a few translations of the scriptures like the King James version of Isaiah 45:7 states that "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.", the word "evil" here is being used very generically and is more commonly translated as "calamity" in most all other versions.

So even though evil exists, it can ONLY exist because God has given its entry into the world permission to exist and sovereignly allowed it to exist. If God did not give evil permission to exist, it could not exist. If God did not give evil permission to exist, and it came into existence anyway, then evil would be more sovereign than God. But evil cannot be more sovereign than God, or even equally sovereign with God, because the God of scriptures is sovereign over all. Therefore, God has permitted the existence of evil. He has allowed it's very existence.

We need to be very careful here; I did not say that God created evil, nor am I claiming that He is the author of evil. God is perfect in character and incapable of creating evil because it would be inconsistent with His holy and perfect nature. However, because evil does exist, God has therefore, for His holy and sovereign purposes, allowed it to exist for some reason not yet known. But because God is sovereign over all things and all circumstances, past, present and future, His sovereign plans are purposeful and perfect in all that He allows or permits and in all that He does not allow or permit.

God's Perfect Will vs. His Permissive Will
Because God is sovereign, no one will ever go to heaven or hell unless He sovereignty permits it. His perfect will and His permissive will are one in the same, working harmoniously, because everything that God permits is perfect in His sovereignty. Yes, even the existence of evil and hell, are permitted parts of His perfect, holy, and sovereign purposes. Just to clarify, I am not suggesting here that God created evil because He certainly did not. Because of His holy nature, God would never create anything that wasn't good and perfect. However, because evil does exist, God has sovereignly allowed it to exist for His holy purposes.

Some would make a distinction between God's perfect will and His permissive will. This suggests that God had an original "Plan-A" that He preferred but failed, so He then formulated a "Plan-B" to correct or compensate for it. Is God capable of making mistakes? Are there unforeseen contingencies that He is not aware of? As humans, with limited knowledge and wisdom, not considering all contingencies, we often have to formulate a Plan-A, Plan-B, Plan-C, and beyond! But God is not subjected to human shortcomings or limited knowledge and wisdom, and therefore needs only a Plan-A. His permissive will is a part of His perfect will. His perfect will has already allowed for Satan's rebellion, man's rebellion, and all other contingencies and possibilities that could ever happen! When God instituted His sovereign plan for His creation, He did so with complete confidence of success. Everything that God planned will come to fruition without anything or anyone frustrating the intended end result! God instituted only one master plan because it will not, in fact cannot fail! What God sovereignly permits (weather perceived by us as holy or evil) is inclusive in His perfect plan for mankind... period! We do not need to understand this, but we do need to accept it if we accept God's sovereignty!

God is Sovereign and Man's Will is Subject to God's Sovereignty
I think that it is about time that the Church embraces humility when it comes to God's sovereignty, even if it jeopardizes theologies regarding man's so-called free-will as being supreme as to what shapes God's will for man. If God sovereignly wills that a man should be undeservingly saved, then that man will desire God and receive His Son, through the Spirit, by the works of His grace alone. If God wills that a man should righteously perish, then a man will perish deservingly with no valid grounds for a rebuttal or grievance. Such a man will never desire God, unless God does a supernatural work in him.

It is God's sovereign supremacy over a man's will that ultimately saves a man! Equally true, it is God's sovereign will that allows a man to reject Him. God sovereignty permits condemned men to naturally reject Him, but also permits condemned men to supernaturally receive Him. Nothing can happen without God's permission... Nothing!

The sovereignty of God is not a negative attribute to be disputed but rather a positive attribute, when we consider that only by God's sovereignty, is it possible for men to be saved at all. If man's will rules over God's will, regarding salvation, all would perish in unbelief with no hope of rescue. Eventually, all of us will be on our knees praising our righteous and gracious God, that He sovereignly chose to rescue anyone at all, because He is certainly not required to do so.

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Man's Free Will vs. God's Sovereignty—Who Wins?

This Question is Already Biased
We, as thinking Christians, debate this question among us often. But why do we do so? The sovereignty of God and the free will of man are two separate issues and should not be confused with each other. To state a common cliche', "It's like comparing apples with oranges". What we should be comparing is God's sovereignty versus man's sovereignty, and God's will versus man's will. As examined earlier, we must concede to the reality that God is always sovereign over man, and that God's will always trumps man's will. The only way we can connect the dots between God's sovereignty and God's will, is to acknowledge that God's will is sovereign. Therefore, the sovereignty of God always trumps the will of man, because the will of God always trumps the will of man.

Does God Choose Someone Because They Choose Him? Or Does Someone Choose God Because He Chose Them? Or is it Both or Neither?
This debate has been going on ever since modern models of secular humanist thinking have been going on. The idea behind the Free Will side of the debate is simply this:

"God would never violate the free will of a man to accomplish His purpose, because this would, in essence, turn man into a puppet where God is controlling the strings, and reduce man to a robot like state, not capable of a true and free expression of love and obedience toward God. Therefore, man's free will must be kept intact, and must not be influenced in any way, as to insure that men's choices made for God are sincere and honest in desiring to love and serve God without coercion."

Is the "Free Will" of an Unregenerated Fallen Man Really Free?
This doctrine of "Free Will" is prevalent in modern thinking and in the modern church. It seems to make sense, at least from a human perspective and is the mantra of modern evangelism. The problem with this doctrine however, is the presupposition that the will of man is free. Nowhere in the scriptures do we find any doctrine of man's absolute moral freedom. On the contrary, we find man's blinding bondage to sin interfering with his judgment, as well as God's sovereign will being exercised contrary to what man would naturally desire. More often than not, we see God going about His business of exercising His sovereign will, contrary to that of man's will. We have already seen what the Scriptures have said about man's condition, namely the fallen and corrupt nature of man prior to any conversion. The Scriptures tell us that man does not desire or seek God (Rom 3:11). The will of man is in bondage to the sinful nature, and is not capable of choosing spiritual truth. In fact, we read in Scriptures that spiritual truth and biblical doctrines are foolishness in the eyes of unregenerate men without the working of Holy Spirit. So how can men freely choose anything that he rejects in the first place? How can he make a free choice if he himself is not free?

(1 Corinthians 1:18)
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

However, in all fairness to the idea of "free will" in an unregenerated person, that person does indeed choose to sin freely, in the sense that he chooses to do what he wants to do freely through his "natural abilities of free choice" ... Sin! The inclination of his heart is evil in its intentions, and freely chooses to act upon that inclination by a choice that was determined by his thinking. More often than not, a person who freely chooses to do evil does so because they do not see or acknowledge a righteous option to not sin. In their bondage to the sinful nature, their list of choices available does not include a righteous choice to avoid sin. They have "natural abilities" of free choice, but no "moral abilities" of free choice. So even though they do sin freely, the choice is made out of ignorance to righteous options. A man born of the Spirit cannot use this excuse because such a regenerated man has righteous options and choices available that an unregenerated man simply does not have access to. Do we, as regenerated born-again Christians still choose to sin freely? Of course we do, but we have spiritual options and a power available to us that give us righteous free choices. So in summarizing this point, I would argue that a man who has been freed from the bondage of sin through re-birth has more freedom in making a righteous choice because he now has righteous options to choose from through his moral abilities of free choice.

(1 Corinthians 2:14)
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(Romans 8:9 NLT)
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

Our default and corrupt earthly will, here on earth, can never ultimately be exercised freely, unless something frees our will. It is controlled and influenced by the sinful nature through the world, the flesh, and the devil. Making a free moral choice for Christ is only possible if a man is free to do so, by the enabling of the Spirit of God. But an unregenerate man is simply not capable of making a free moral decision for Christ and will consider anything from God "foolishness", as indicated above in 1 Corinthians 2:14.

Rejecting Jesus Christ is Natural—Accepting Jesus Christ is Supernatural
The default will of man is anything but free and is in desperate need of reform. The only way men can choose freely, is if the man himself is made free by a supernatural event, removing him from the power and bondage of sin. A freeing transformation of the very nature of man must occur before a man can be willing to come to Christ freely, or free to come to Christ willingly.

Consider the following scripture:

(John 15:16)
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

Is God saying here that we had no choice at all in the salvation process? Yes, He is! However, we should not confuse this with the idea that we didn't willingly make any choices ourselves along the way. Indeed, we did freely choose God's way of salvation, but only because He first choose and appointed us, liberating us from our sinful nature and making us willing to freely receive Christ by supernaturally installed faith by way of His amazing graciousness. If chosen by God, the rest follows; rebirth, holiness, desire for God, love for God, faith, good works, etc.

(Ephesians 1:4)
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

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The Doctrine of Predestination

Is the Doctrine of Predestination Biblical?
There are those who do not believe in predestination or warn against holding any view of predestination, claiming that it is not biblical to do so. But it should be pointed out that the doctrine of predestination is not a man-made theology, but rather one that the Scriptures refer to specifically. The Bible makes reference to the word "predestined" four times, the phrase "the elect / His elect" eleven times and the word "election" three times in most translations. So the reason that there is a theology of predestination and election is because the Bible specifically deals with this subject.

The real issue here is not whether or not the Bible discusses the doctrines of predestination and election, because it does, but rather, what these terms mean. There are basically two ways that the Biblical term "predestined" is interpreted:

Much can be said for both of these views of predestination. It is a very heavy undertaking, but one that I believe is important, if we want to make any sense at all as to the basis for which God makes His sovereign choices concerning His elect. Either God's choice of salvation for His elect is based on a person's choice and willingness, or it is based on God's own sovereign choice despite a person's inherent unwillingness. Both have merit for the sake of discussion, but both cannot be true Biblically because they are both the antithesis of each other.

I think that it is Biblical to say that those whom God chooses for salvation, come willingly by faith, choosing Christ as their personal Savior. Both God and man are in full agreement and in mutual cooperation. Those whom God does not choose for salvation, cannot come willingly by faith, because man is morally incapable of making such a choice to begin with, due to the hardness of man's heart as a result of his sinful and corrupt nature and unwillingness to repent as a result of the deep fall of mankind in Adam. As Jesus explained to Nicodemus:

(John 3:6-8)
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again'. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

I am persuaded by scriptures that the Biblical view of predestination is: The act of God, in eternity past, choosing those for salvation based on His sovereign will alone, enabling His chosen elect to receive Christ through supernaturally installed faith through regeneration.

(John 15:16)
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

(John 6:65)
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him"

(John 6:37)
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.

(Luke 10:22)
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

(Hebrews 12:2)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Ephesians 2:8,9)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast

(Romans 9:16)
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy

(Philippians 2:13)
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose

(Philippians 1:6)
being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

(2 Corinthians 1:21)
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us...

(Romans 10:20)
And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me"

(Romans 12:3)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

(Acts 3:16)
... It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

(1 John 5:1)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His Child as well.

(Acts 13:48)
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the Word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed

(Acts 18:27)
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

(Romans 8:33,34)
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us

(Zephaniah 1:7)
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated those He has invited.

(Ephesians 1:4-6)
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love. He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves

(Titus 3:3-7)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

There are numerous examples in scripture where God's holy sovereignty outweighs man's selfish ways. If God did not sovereignly predetermine some for salvation, none would be saved! Predestination is not determined by man's will, but rather God's will. Left to himself, man would perish in his own fallenness and inadequacies. Man cannot and will not make a righteous and free choice to receive Christ as Savior unless a man be "born again" by the Sprit, regenerated to a state of spiritual life. For all of God's predestined elect, He has regenerated them so that saving faith is not only possible but eminent! Faith is the fruit of the Spirit and the Spirit's ministry of rebirth is given to all those whom God has chosen to be His sovereign predestined elect. If we are exercising true saving faith in Jesus Christ, it is ONLY because we have been chosen and predestined to do so! Otherwise, we would have NEVER freely chosen Christ.

In Ephesians 9, Paul makes a rather astonishing case for God's sovereign choice in election and why:

(Ephesians 9:10-25)
(10) Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. (11) Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: (12) not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” (13) Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (14) What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! (15) For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (16) It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. (17) For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (18) Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. (19) One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” (20) But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’?” (21) Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? (22) What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? (23) What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— (24) even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (25) As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

If there were ever a place in scripture where Paul could have set the record straight regarding what God's sovereign predestination was all about, it would have been here in these passages! There is total silence in these passages that would promote any doctrine of God's "foreknowledge" view of predestination, and what an awkward silence it is! Notice that in verse 19, Paul knows what the logical question will be after what he just shared: "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden" — "One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?'" Why would Paul pose such a hypothetical question if he were not referring to God sovereignly electing man unconditionally? If Paul was just referring to God selecting man based on future knowledge of a man's decision, then Paul would have not raised this question at all. In fact, here, he could have clearly refuted any doctrine that God makes the sovereign choice unconditionally... But he doesn't!! Instead, Paul makes it quite clear: "But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?" Paul then concludes by explaining why God sovereignly chooses this way: "What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea: 'I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,'” I believe that Paul was being brutally honest here regarding God's right to His sovereign will and decisions regarding His predestined elect.

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The Doctrine of Double-Predestination

What Happens To Those Who Are Not Predestined For Salvation?
The doctrine of Double-Predestination is a very controversial subject. It is based on the premise that if God has an elect to whom He will give passage to heaven by His sovereign choice, then the rest of mankind is either actively or passively being condemned by His sovereign choice as well. This is not a pleasant doctrine to entertain. But just because it is difficult, or even offensive to discuss, we should not avoid discussing it, just for the sake of making ourselves feel better. Doctrines designed to make us feel better can be deadly, and actually make us feel worse in the long run, especially if they are heretical in nature.

Some, that are of both the "reformed" and "non-reformed" persuasion, may argue that yes, God chooses those who are of the elect, but never chooses those who are of the non-elect. In other words, they maintain that God chooses who will go to heaven, but never chooses who will go to hell. But this makes absolutely no sense at all. If God chooses and establishes His heavenly elect, then He must also, by omission, have chosen those who He will not elect. By not choosing someone for salvation, He has effectually chosen them for His righteous judgment. If God has two clay vessels to deal with, how can He choose one vessel for noble purposes, without choosing the other for common use. This is the crux and pain of the doctrine of Double-Predestination. Remember though, God could choose that everyone receive His eternal judgment of guilt and be perfectly righteous in doing so without us accusing Him of any foul play. The doctrine of Double-Predestination is a doctrine of God's amazing grace being applied to those who deserve condemnation, and issuing His justice to the rest of mankind, who deserve condemnation. But no one receives any injustice.

It should be pointed out that the non-reformed view of predestination has to deal with this particular issue also, because whether you are reformed or non-reformed in your view of predestination, God willingly and knowingly allows the creation of those who will ultimately perish, regardless of who is doing the choosing.

Some argue that the idea of "predestined condemnation" is an idea that only Calvinists have to deal with. But dealing with why God would allow the creation of a soul destined for eternal judgment is a universal question that weighs heavy on all of us, despite one's personal preference of reformed or non-reformed theological persuasion. This is because even those of the "non-reformed" persuasion must realize that if man's fate is entirely predicated on man's choices and not with God's, God, in his foreknowledge, still allowed them to be born and exist, knowing the ultimate fate of eternal separation as a result of human choices that would be made. So again, whether you are reformed or non-reformed in your view of election, God willingly and knowingly allows souls to exist who will ultimately perish.

Early on in my Christian walk, I had a conversation with a pastor who tried to bypass this sticky issue all together by actually making the amazing declaration that God limits His own knowledge of man's decisions regarding salvation, thereby letting Himself off the hook for having to make the decision as to who is elected and not elected for salvation. Really? A doctrine like this has so many problems with it that would be a fools errand to try to make any sense out of it. Any doctrine that limits or suppresses God's own self-knowlege (Omniscience) is a dangerous one! Additionally, if God suppresses His own knowledge of man's decisions, how could He righteously judge anyone at all? Any doctrine of "limited omniscience" is a self-contradictory doctrine and should be considered as total nonsense.

In essence, the difference with the non-reformed and reformed views of predestination is basically this; In the non-reformed view, man's hope for salvation rests entirely in man's abilities of faith in Christ, in order to receive the benefits of God's grace that leads to salvation; In the reformed view, man's hope for salvation rests entirely in God's grace to install the necessary faith in Christ that leads to salvation. One system is about man's abilities of faith, the other is about God's effectual grace which supplies even the necessary faith required. But both systems require help from God in some way. With the non-reformed view, the salvation process is as much dependant on man's will as it is in God's grace. With the reformed view, the salvation process is dependant exclusively in God's sovereign choice and grace alone. So again, the non-reformed system will argue that salvations is achieved by the mutual cooperation of God and man, where man's faith is the catalyst for cooperation, while the reformed system will argue that salvation is achieved by God's grace alone, where God's grace supplies the necessary faith in man, in order for him to believe at all.

In What Sense Does God "Harden" the Hearts of Men?
The Scriptures makes several references to God "hardening" the hearts of certain men. This may seem, to some, like the doctrine of either a radical God, or a radical interpretation of God. It depends on how the word "Hardening" is understood. There are two views regarding "God's Hardening"; "Active Hardening" and "Passive Hardening". This leads us to the theological concept known as "The (Equal) and (Unequal) Ultimacy Views of Double Predestination".

"The (Equal) and (Unequal) Ultimacy Views of Double Predestination"
How's that for a title! I didn't make this up... It's out there and is important to understand when dealing with God's active and passive will. As discussed earlier, God's will is always accomplished, and never frustrated. Nothing can frustrate the ultimate will of God. If something or someone could frustrate the sovereign will of God, then it would have to be more sovereign than God! And nothing is more sovereign than God!!

God's sovereign will is accomplished in two ways; "Actively" and "Passively". When God does something actively, He is directly influencing circumstances and/or people, to accomplish His holy purpose in the final outcome. When God does something passively, He is indirectly influencing circumstances (by doing nothing) to accomplish His holy purpose in the final outcome. Either way, He is accomplishing His holy purposes, with or without our approval.

"The Equal Ultimacy View of Double Predestination" is the idea that (1) God actively regenerates the hearts of men, enabling them to be willing and able to receive the Gospel that leads to salvation and (2) actively hardens the rest of men's hearts by making them even more corrupt than they already were before He hardened them, thus making it impossible for them to ever receive the Gospel of salvation. I totally reject this doctrine and is NOT what Calvinism and Reformed Theology teaches. (This would be considered as "Hyper-Calvinism" which is not Calvinism at all!)

"The Unequal Ultimacy View of Double Predestination" is the idea that (1) God actively regenerates the hearts of men, enabling them to be willing and able to receive the Gospel that leads to salvation and (2) passively hardens the rest of men's hearts by leaving them inherently corrupt in their original nature (by not influencing or regenerating them), thus making it impossible for them to ever receive the Gospel of salvation by virtue of their own inherited stubbornness.

Calvinism and Hyper-Calvinism ... Do Not Confuse the Two ... They are NOT the Same!
The Reformed View of Election (Calvinism) has been grossly misunderstood by some to mean that God chooses some to be saved who are kicking and screaming to resist Him all the way to heaven, and that God condemns others who really want to be saved all the way to hell. (This is a Hyper-Calvinistic view better known as "Fatalism" and is based on the Equal Ultimacy View of Double Predestination) This is NOT the Calvinistic Reformed view of predestination and should be rejected as Biblical heresy. Calvinism has always taught that all who come to Christ, come to Him willingly, and all who reject Christ, reject Him willingly. No one is forced against their will to do anything. The Scriptures are clear that all of us are inherently unwilling to receive Christ, unless God supernaturally effects a change in the will of man from unwillingness to willingness to receive Christ as savior. This is what the Grace of God is all about, because without God's grace, none of us would be willing to receive Christ at all.

What Ultimately Rules—God's Sovereign Will or Man's Will?
You had better hope that it is God's will that ultimately rules the affairs of men, because left to man's will, without any supernatural influence or restoration, all men would perish in unbelief! It is amazing to me how many in the modern church believe that man has just enough moral goodness to understand their desperate need of a Savior and enough courage and power to believe and receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Scripture tells us repeatedly that "Spirit is born of Spirit"—not flesh. Apart from God's supernatural revelation of Himself, man just doesn't get it, nor will he ever fully understand his moral dilemma by himself or have any power to do anything about it even if they do understand their moral dilemma.

Okay, so some may agree that yes, God must reveal Himself supernaturally in order for men to understand his need, and understand what God offers. But isn't it possible for men to still reject God's offer of salvation even after it is clearly understood? Can't men resist God's grace?

I would like to address this question with another one: Who in their right mind, knowing how corrupt and desperate they are, and knowing what God is really offering, would want to resist His gracious offering? This reminds me of an interesting comparison that I once heard, where someone is offered a free meal and is required to make a choice for one of the two plates being offered; On one plate is dog vomit—on the other plate is a perfectly prepared filet mignon. Anyone who is in touch with reality at all, knowing the difference between the two, would ALWAYS choose the Filet mignon! If they choose the dog vomit, it would indicate that either they are making their choice in total darkness with no sense of vision, touch, taste or smell to aid them in their decision, or making their choice not knowing the difference between dog vomit and filet mignon. Either way, a decision for the dog vomit would be one based on total ignorance. This may seem like an extreme example to use, when comparing the desire for Jesus Christ with food, but for those who truly understand what is at stake, the choice is just as easy and clear, when choosing between life or death, heaven or hell and God or Satan. Grace refused is grace not given!

When God administers His grace to a man, He surely sees to it that the man will supernaturally understand two things; (1) How corrupt the man is, resulting in his knowing his desperate need of a Savior, and (2) How Holy God is, and the Savior He sent, His Son Jesus Christ, whom He has offered for the man's salvation. If someone does not understand these two critical truths, then obviously God has not, by His grace, revealed Himself to this person. God, in His graciousness, must reveal both man's problem and His solution to man's problem, or nothing can possibly happen in terms of a man's salvation. This is what God's grace is all about... revealing the problem and the solution in a way that is so clearly understood, that a man would never refuse the offer.

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• Non-Effectual Grace
  • The non-reformed view of election maintains that God's grace is the act of God, through His mercy, love, and potential forgiveness, making it possible for man to be saved through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It maintains that God's offer of salvation itself does not guarantee anything to men, but only makes it possible, dependant on man's willingness to believe and receive it. So man is elected ONLY if he is willing to be, and then makes the appropriate choice.
    
    Non-Effectual grace, therefore, falls short of actually saving men and is contingent on man's faith in Christ.—God, by His offer of grace, does not "effect" the man to be willing to receive it. Man must be willing on his own.
    
    
• Effectual Grace
  • The reformed view of election maintains that God's grace is the act of God, through His mercy, love, and forgiveness, making it a reality for man to be saved through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It maintains that God's offer of salvation does guarantee everything necessary for a man, including God overcoming man's unbelief.
    
    Effectual Grace, therefore, when offered, always saves men by enabling man's faith in Christ.—God, by His offer of grace, does "effect" the man to be willing to receive it. Otherwise, man would never receive it.

Is God's Grace Irresistible?
The word Irresistible, may to some, mean not having the freedom to resist something or being forced to accept something. In some cases, this would be an accurate definition of something irresistible. But irresistible can also mean freely choosing something because of an overwhelming passion or desire for it. I would like to clarify what the reformed position of Irresistible Grace is.

If someone totally and truly understands the benefits of receiving Jesus Christ, and who also truly understands the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ, they will always find what Jesus Christ offers as irresistible. After all, who, in their right mind, knowing how corrupt and desperate they are, and knowing what God is really offering, would want to resist His divine grace? So, the effect of Irresistible Grace does not mean that someone can not resist, it means that someone will not resist it, while being both free and sincere in their choice. It is in this vain that the doctrine of Irresistible Grace has it's meaning. God's grace is irresistible in the sense that it is too beautiful and precious to resist when truly understood.

If we could resist God's grace, then God's grace is not sufficient to overcome our unbelief. If we could resist God's saving grace, then we would have to believe that we are more sovereign than God, and that our unbelief trumps God's grace. If the condition of experiencing God's grace is dependant on man's willingness to receive it, and not in God's sovereign purpose to administer it, THEN NO ONE WOULD RECEIVE IT !! This is because in man's fallen nature, no one wants it. It is by God's grace that we even desire Him at all. (See Romans 3:11 above)

Some believe that God's grace has nothing whatsoever to do with overcoming our unbelief. They would argue that God's grace is not effectual in conditioning man to respond to God's salvation offer, and that men are responsible, all by themselves, to muster up enough faith required to accept God's gracious call to salvation. I do not find any scriptural support for this, and in fact, believe that the Scriptures communicates the opposite. (See Scripture references above)

It is pure arrogance to believe that man, in his limited free will, can in any way frustrate the sovereign will of God, in exercising His redemptive plans for His elect. Some would argue that God would never "violate" the free will of a man, in order to accomplish His purposes. I would like to say two things about this;

    (1) When God conditions a man for salvation, a man comes willingly—there is no violation of will occurring here. And even if God does directly or indirectly effect a man's will, enabling him to be willing, what wrongful violation is occurring? Man is not "forced" to do anything, because he receives willingly. In other words, a man is not forced to believe unwillingly, but rather enabled to believe willingly! This is because of a fundamental change in his his very being, leading to a fundamental change in his understanding! Only God alone can condition a man to repentance willingly!

    (2) For those who are concerned about the idea of God violating man's free will here, consider this; Did God offer anyone a choice in any of the following: when they would be born?, where they would be born?, what sex they would be?, how rich or poor they would be?, what kind of a family up-bringing they would have?, what country they would live in?, how good looking or ugly they would be?, etc. Of course not! It seems that we allow God be sovereign in every area of our lives, except when it comes to our so-called free choices. Can you imagine someone in hell saying the following: "I may be in hell, but at least I wasn't forced to choose eternal life against my will". I think not. Those suffering in hell would have gladly had their wills transformed, or even "violated", if it meant escaping the flames!

Philippians 2:13 is clear about God's activity in shaping and conforming our will and actions for His good purpose:

(Philippians 2:13)
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose

Faith as a Result of God's Grace is Irresistible in Nature
If we could resist the "measure of faith" that God gives to us, then He obviously does not give us enough to overcome our doubts! What kind of a measure of faith would that be? What kind of a god would toy with us like that? Why would God give us anything that's not quite good enough to get the job done? Simple, He wouldn't. Everything He gives is sufficient to complete His holy purposes and sovereign decrees, flawlessly because He is flawless. He is true and sure in executing His redemptive plans for men, despite man's resistance and ignorance, and despite what all men justly deserve as a result of sin—spiritual death!

God did not subject His Son Jesus Christ to the horrors of the cross, only to leave it in the hands of mortal men to determine its effectiveness, but rather committed His Son to do a particular redeeming work to guarantee salvation for those whom Christ died for—the elect. God's plan of salvation will not be frustrated by man's inabilities and flaws.

If anyone thinks for a minute that their mortal decisions can frustrate God's sovereign master plan for them, then a quick review of the following Scriptures should dismiss that idea:

(Romans 9:15-21)
For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden. One of you will say to Me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists His will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

Choosing to resist God's grace is like a man choosing to be a pig instead of a man. I know some men who act like pigs, but they're still men, despite their actions or external appearances. Man is what he is, and no matter how hard he tries, he cannot change the nature of who he is. Only God can do this. When God, for His own good pleasure and purposes, creates a spiritually live man from a spiritually dead man, a man is permanently changed. Even more than that, exchanged!—forever!! Once God enables faith in a man, as a result of Spiritual re-birth, not only does a man understand God in a way that he couldn't before, he will be so absorbed in the beauty and wonder of God and in His Son Jesus Christ, that the resulting measure of faith that he receives will be effectually rock-solid and sufficient for salvation. You could not force him to denounce his faith even with a gun at his head! (See Hebrews 11:1 above)

Those who seemingly resist the grace of God, obviously have never understood the grace of God because it has never been supernaturally revealed to them. Man's sinful nature and heart of stone make it impossible to independently develop the necessary faith required for salvation, let alone comprehend what God's grace is all about. Natural man cannot comprehend spiritual things, nor does he have a desire to do so. (1 Cor 2:14, John 3:6-8, Rom 3:11)

God's grace and mercy overcomes man's lack of faith. God's grace overcomes all obstacles inherent in fallen man, as to regenerate him in a way that makes it impossible for His grace to ever fail. Once God's grace has been applied to a man, with His measure of faith installed, a man will not desire to resist, but rather desire to assist God in the work that He started in him—freely and willingly! Thank God for that!

(John 6:37)
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.

(John 10:29)
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand.

So Where Does Our Faith Come From?
What a relief to discover that Almighty God, fortunately, is more sovereign than us, and that even our faith is enjoyed by His gracious provision. What a great God we serve!!! Amen.

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Why Should We Share Our Christian Faith?

Why Share the Gospel at all if God's Choice in Election is Final?

Everyone Needs To Hear The Gospel
No matter what persuasion you happen to be, whether reformed or non-reformed, none of us know who the elect are. We should treat everyone as potential candidates for election and simply let God be sovereign in His election process. The Gospel needs to be heard by everyone, regardless of how we view man's will or God's sovereignty or which of these two holds the key to the final outcome. No matter how the fine points of the election process are viewed, the Gospel of Salvation is always intimately involved as part of the salvation process. However, the reformed and non-reformed views of election hold different reasons for why the Gospel should be preached, and why we should be involved in evangelization.

The Non-Reformed Mind-Set Regarding Evangelization
The non-reformist rejects the idea of God's sovereign election as being the primary catalyst for salvation, and maintains that it is entirely up to man to make a moral decision regarding Christ, apart from any interference by God, because this would be a violation of man's free will. So, they will insist that we need to evangelize, because men need to hear, understand, and make this moral decision for Christ, by free will, based on the truth of the Gospel, in order to be saved. They view the Gospel as being sufficient enough to change the mind of the unbeliever and that the unbeliever, therefore, must either accept or reject the Gospel, through free choice. Therefore, the Gospel is only effective for those who make the right choice in receiving it.

The Rreformed Mind-Set Regarding Evangelization
The reformist maintains that God's sovereign will, apart from man's unwillingness to come to Christ, is what secures salvation, but acknowledges that the Gospel is a process, by which God calls His sovereign elect. For those whom God has elected and made ready through rebirth, the sharing of the Gospel will indeed always be received willingly, effectively accomplishing its purpose in the salvation process. Therefore, the Gospel is always effective for all of those whom God has sovereignty chose.

There Are Three Reasons That Should Motivate All Of Us To Share the Gospel:

"Thank you Lord for entrusting us with your precious Word!!"

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What is Arminianism and Calvinism?—A Quick Primer

1. The inerrancy of Scriptures.
   
   
2. Sola Scriptura (In Scripture Alone) The Scriptures are the infallible, sole source of authority for the Christian faith and practice.
   
   
3. God and His Word are the origin and source of truth, justice, morality, meaning, and beauty.
   
   
4. The interpretation of Scriptures is accomplished by examining the original Greek and Hebrew text, using context, historical, grammatical, and exegetical methodology, where grammar and syntax have the final say.
   
   
5. The absolute sovereignty of God.

Five Articles of Remonstrance (Five Points of Arminianism - James Arminus)
By the 16th century, the Christian Church and her teachings were wavering from what had been originally understood as Christian doctrinal teachings from old. There was a wave of new Christian theology that was being taught at the expense of what the original Church fathers had taught regarding the doctrines of election and salvation. This new system of theology was presented by James Arminus and his followers as the "Five Articles of Remonstrance". Here are those five articles and their intended meanings:

• Partial Depravity of Man
  This idea is that man's moral free will was not so hindered by the fall of Adam and Eve, that he cannot choose salvation freely. Since the Bible speaks of man's responsibility of faith in Jesus Christ, the assumption is that faith, by free choice, is therefore possible by man alone. Man therefore is not so depraved that he cannot develop saving faith without supernatural aid, and must do so since it is the requirement of salvation. So the argument is that if God commands men to believe by faith, then man must obviously be capable of it.
  
  
• Conditional Election
  The idea here is that God looked into the future portal of time and elected those who He knew would choose Him, based on the condition of future faith in Jesus Christ. So the argument is that God's election is solely based on the condition that a man freely exercises the necessary faith required for salvation.
  
  
• Unlimited Atonement
  This doctrine argues that the atonement of the cross is for everyone past, present and future, even though not everyone will enjoy its benefits. The interpretation here is that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was offered for everybody, but is only effective and ironically, limited to those who exercise the necessary faith required for salvation.
  
  
• Resistible Grace
  The concept here is that God offers His saving grace to everyone, but can be resisted by free choice. The argument is that man can and do resist the Holy Spirit's call and by doing so, condemns themselves to hell.
  
  
• Falling Away of the Saints
  This is the natural conclusion of the non-reformed view of election. If man is saved by his own free moral choices, then he is also doomed by them as well. The Bible does speak of some who have "fallen away".

Five Points of Calvinism in Direct Response to the Five Articles of Remonstrance — (T.U.L.I.P.)
Because John Calvin recognized a major shift from Biblical-based theology to a more man-based human wisdom, regarding the position of the 16th century Church doctrines, he and many other scholars felt compelled to re-examine the long held doctrines of the Christian faith established from the Biblical founding fathers, through months and months of careful re-examination and labor, hammering out the doctrines of grace on the anvil of controversy very carefully before publishing his responses to James Arminus's Five Articles of Remonstrance. Here are those responses and intended meanings:

 

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The Secular Humanistic Agenda and the Modern Church

Secular Humanism is the Pride of Self Sufficiency
Secular Humanism is nothing new. It has been around (in one form or another) ever since Adam and Eve chose to disobey God's command, and believe that they could think and act independently of God to form their own destiny in the cosmos. Not considering God's sovereign will and desire for them, they learned the hard way what happens when decisions are made independently of God. As a result, mankind is still experiencing the consequences to this day. All throughout history, we see example after example where the secular human agenda has caused nothing but grief and suffering.

Being raised in a world where the default rationale is one of Secular Humanism, it is hard to divorce ourselves and our thought life from its influence. Even in the modern Church, with non-reformed systems of theological teaching, it makes it even harder to escape the humanistic systems of thought regarding man's self-sufficiency.

Secular Humanism is all about us, our abilities, our accomplishments, and our status in the universe. Its agenda places us in the highest authority. There is no room for a Sovereign God who determines every outcome and means by which it is accomplished, because this would be secular heresy to the almighty will of humanity. The non-reformed doctrine of election fits nicely into the humanistic system of self determination apart from any help from God.

Even though Secular Humanism and Christianity should be mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed to one another, it has found its way into the hearts and souls of many well-meaning Christians. The world's mantra of self sufficiency and self importance has elevated man to god-like status and has diminished the grace of God to something unrecognizable. Unfortunately, I see this humanistic philosophy being practiced and preached all too often in the modern Christian Church as well. The grace of God is being reduced to nothing more than a loose term and catchy word used to describe something that God offers to a man if he measures up to a standard of self righteousness as evidenced by correct moral decisions.

It is my opinion and contention that the doctrine of Arminianism is exactly that; a very self-focused, self willed (what can I do for myself) approach to salvation rather than a system that is totally dependant on the sovereign will and amazing grace of God. It is basically argued (in the non-reformed system of thought) that "God helps those who help themselves". I adamantly reject this interpretation of the Scriptures. The temptation for arrogance is high in the non-reformed system of theology, because it rests (or labors) in man's abilities rather than in God's free gifts. It depends (and boasts) on man's moral choices rather than on God's sovereign choice.

Thank God that He anticipated this and still overcomes even our selfish, self-focused approach to a better life. We would like to believe that we are authorities of life, but God trumps us because He IS the Author of life. He knows what it takes to create life in those who are dead. Dead men do not make life choices—only live men do! And when men are made alive by the grace of God, then and only then, can true faith in Christ be possible.

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How Does Our Theology Affect The Way That We Live?

Does it Really Matter What We Believe?
What we believe to be true, about anything, will certainly effect the way we respond to circumstances and problems. The same can be said for what we believe about our faith.

Our Abilities Lead Us To Pride
If we believe that the primary catalyst for faith is in our abilities, then we will live in such a way as to focus our attention on our abilities of faith. While I firmly believe the Biblical teachings that "faith leads to salvation", the real question is, what leads us to faith? Is saving faith an attribute inherently possible in all mankind? If we believe that faith is the product of our own volition, then our focus will naturally be on ourselves. If developing saving faith is solely our responsibility, then we should certainly be able to take credit for it if we can develop it. So as long as we believe that our faith is of our own volition, then we will focus on our efforts and count those who have no faith as heretics and losers, as we judge them with our legalistic gavel of self-righteousness. We will be quick to wipe the dust from our feet proclaiming that they do not measure up to God's requirement of faith. We will be proud of ourselves that we measured up to God’s standard of faith.

Our Inabilities Lead Us To Death
If our faith is the result of our own desires and effort, then we must also believe that our faith is in jeopardy when our desires and efforts fail us. If we live in such a way that is not pleasing to the Lord, what happens to our faith then? If our faith in Christ does not result in changed behavior, then what good is our faith? (James 2:14-26) If we are responsible for our faith, based on our abilities, then we are also responsible for our lack of faith, based on our inabilities! So if we believe that saving faith must be independently developed outside of God’s influence, then the way that we evangelize the lost will be to convince them that they must make a moral choice for Christ by their own faith. We would have to persuade them to put their faith in Christ before anything spiritual can happen. We would have to teach them that they hold the key to eternity by their free moral choices through their faith. We would have to teach them that they must have faith before God can do anything with them. And we would therefore have to warn them that if they ever lost their faith, they would be in mortal danger of loosing their salvation unto spiritual death, since it would be based on their faith.

God's Abilities Lead Us To Life!
If, on the other hand, we believe that the primary catalyst for man's faith is the result of God's grace, then we will live in such a way as to focus our attention on God's abilities, through His grace that works His persuasion, motivation, and invitation. The burden of developing saving faith will not be dependant on our talents or attributes, but rather on God's. When we understand God's sovereign election process, and understand that our faith is a gift from Him, we will be less likely to judge a man who has rejected the Gospel, knowing full well that God is in total control of the universe and will loose none that He has made His own. Men cannot be expected to understand spiritual things in their inherent carnal, unregenerate condition. The faith required by a man to turn from resistance to acceptance of the Gospel requires more than just will power, it requires heavenly power! If we believe that saving faith is part of God’s grace package, then the way that we evangelize the lost will be to simply preach and teach the Gospel and let God be sovereign in His purpose and final outcome. We will understand and accept that when God sovereignly chooses a vessel of clay for noble purposes, that vessel will respond in faith willingly when hearing the Gospel of salvation. We will believe that when God graciously reveals His Son to a man, through the work of His Spirit, such a man will respond to the Gospel, by faith, without any extra help from us. God certainly does not need our help to save a person, even though He sovereignly chooses to use us through "the foolishness of preaching the Gospel". (1 Corinthians 1:21)

Our Theology Effects The Way That We Live!
Our theology effects everything about us. If our theology is secular, then we will place more emphasis on human will and accomplishment. If it is Biblical, then we will place more emphasis on God's sovereign will and accomplishments for His fallen creatures. One is about us, and the other is about Him. How often do we hear a sermon preached from a pulpit, about it being "all about Jesus", only to be told a few moments later how... "it all depends on us". So, depending on our theology, our life focus will either be in our abilities of faith, or in God's abilities of grace in developing our faith. The potential for faith either labors in man, or rests in God. If it labors in man, then man should take credit and be glorified. If it rests in God, then God should take credit and be glorified. Which of these theologies sounds Biblical to you?

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Closing Observations and Exaltations

Correct theology does not save a person; Jesus Christ does! But a correct theology, based on the truth of God's Word, will at least help us understand how helpless we are in ourselves for securing our salvation and how dependant we are in trusting God's sovereign work for our salvation. Brothers and sisters, may we remember that our ultimate struggle is not with each other, or with theological or humanistic systems of thought, as different as they may be, or even flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers that would delight in deceiving us into believing that it is "all about us". These earthly powers and demonic forces would divide us into a million pieces, if not for the grace of God who protects both His sovereign elect and sound doctrine. We, as Christian brothers and sisters, must all depend on the grace and strength that God gives to us, to battle these demonic forces that causes the real divisions among us.

(Ephesians 6:12)
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As believers, we must let the Spirit speak truth to us through the authority of His Word, no matter how contrary it may be to any theology that may be comfortable to us, or how painful it may be for us to accept. We must always rely on the Spirit to give us the proper meaning. There are some things we will never understand about God. But for those truths that God has communicated to us through the Holy Scriptures, we need to let Him do the talking before we do the rationalizing, despite our personal philosophies to the contrary. If we rest in the supreme, sovereign, and final Word and will of God, and embrace the doctrines of His grace set forth therein, it should humble the most proud of us, and give a peace, power, and assurance that simply cannot be developed from within ourselves or by ourselves.

"Lord, enable us to see and experience the beautiful and powerful truth found in your Word, through your amazing grace.
Enable us to experience truth and the new-life that sets us free to love you and each other."


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